This month many Jewish people will join in mourning over an especially tragic date. According to Jewish tradition,Tisha b’Av—or the ninth day of the month of Av—is the date of destruction for both the first and second temples in Jerusalem.

Growing up in a Messianic Jewish family, I knew all about Passover, Hanukkah, Purim and Sukkot. But I didn’t hear about Lag B’Omer until I moved to New York City and took a Hebrew class. There I learned that for many religious Jews this holiday holds deep significance.

The Hanukkah-Thanksgiving Connection: Who Knew? Picture this. You and your extended family – aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and grandparents – are gathered for a meal. The table is beautifully set, and a huge feast has been prepared. Many wonderful smells...

This year, Shavuot (the Jewish festival behind the Christian Pentecost Sunday) is May 14-15 (sundown to sundown). You can read more Jews for Jesus articles on this holiday here. Beyond that, David Brickner and Rich Robinson have written a very thorough guide to...

Shammash is a Hebrew word that means servant. In the Jewish community, shammash (also spelled “shammas”) commonly refers to the sexton—the person who manages the synagogue facilities and keeps things running smoothly. In the Middle Ages the term referenced a more...

At every Passover seder, one of the more dramatic moments is when the family recites the Ten Plagues that God sent against Egypt. Together everybody names each plague and pours out a drop from the aptly-named Cup of Plagues, the second cup of the evening. The idea is...

The following excerpt is from the Messianic Family Haggadah.* This haggadah retains the essential elements of the traditional seder service, but weaves in some New Testament understandings that explain the Passover/Jesus connection. The Three Symbols of Passover...

Passover is a beautiful, often mysterious, celebration. More than any other festival it has been at the heart of the universal Jewish experience, helping to form the core of spiritual identity and pointing inexorably toward the hope of Israel’s salvation. Two...

Every year Macabbi Tel Aviv faces off against its rival, Hapoel Tel Aviv, in a soccer match. The game is filled with tension and excitement as a packed house stands and cheers non-stop for ninety minutes. Accolades and bragging rights will fall to the winner. Yet the...

We are proud when a Jewish athlete succeeds, but a few have gained even more respect for refusing to play ball on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg recalled his 1934 decision: Both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur came in...

People often ask us the reason behind the traditional Jewish yarmulke (skull cap), also called a kippah (Hebrew for covering). The following information comes from a catalogue that sells a variety of kippot (plural for kippah): The sources for wearing kippot (Jewish...

These are trying times. As we’re confronted with an economic meltdown of global proportions, international terrorism, political upheaval and cultural decline, many can’t help wondering how we will survive such conditions. Jewish history has much to teach...

The number four plays a significant role in Judaism. There are the four species of plants for Sukkot; four kingdoms in the book of Daniel; four Torah portions in the tefillin; four Matriarchs in the book of Genesis. At Passover, we find this number in abundance. In the course of the seder we have four sons, four cups of wine, four expressions of redemption (Exodus 6:6-7) and perhaps the most famous “four” of all—the Ma Nishtana, known in English as the Four Questions…

An Ashkenazic Look at Sephardic Sukkot Customs (What one Reform Jew from Brooklyn learned) I come from an Ashkenazic family, which means we have an Eastern European Jewish background. Sephardic Jews come from Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean, North Africa and Iraq....

Passover Symbols IN O.T. ACCOUNTS AT LAST SUPPER AND/OR IN EARLY CHURCH IN RABBINIC TRADITION IN CONTEMPORARY JUDAISM AS APPLIED IN THE CHURCH TODAY BONDAGE AND EXODUS God's dealings with Israel — yearly celebration and remembrance (Ex. 12:24-27) Freedom in Christ...

These days are observed only by traditional Orthodox Jews. Some non-Orthodox Jews tend to recognize them as important in Jewish tradition but do not encourage traditional observance. Sheva Asar be-Tammuz Meaning of Name: The 17th of Tammuz English Name: The Fast of...

Purim is the Jewish holiday which is most carnival-like. Children drown out Haman’s name with greggers. Young Jewish girls participate in Queen Esther beauty pageants. Plays are enacted called Purimspiels. And everyone noshes on poppyseed and prune hamantaschen....

The scene is the bed chamber of Queen Esther on the night before she attempts to approach the king’s throne uninvited. The following letter by Bonnie Wilks is fictitious, yet might well express some of Esther’s sentiments from the background of a Jew, an...

I set myself to enjoy my favorite program on the television. With great expectations I turned on the TV, but nothing happened…no music…no picture…not even a commercial! Disappointed, I declaimed the TV worthless, a useless box that offered me entertainment but...

The central theme of the message which brought Jewish people together and bound us to one another is Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.” In this affirmation, there are many inferences to be understood. Some would look no further than the interpretation...

Dayenu” on Yom Kippur? Whoever heard of such a thing! We sing, “Dayenu” at Passover, not on the Day of Atonement. But in one sense, Dayenu is appropriate on Yom Kippur. Dayenu is a Hebrew word which means, “It is sufficient for us; it is...

Mankind has been confronted with the experience of death since the beginning of time, and yet there is hardly another subject about which we know so little. Modern man chooses to escape from the awesome awareness of his own mortality and seeks ways to isolate himself...

You’re going to stick that baby with a needle?” My voice must have betrayed my initial shock and dismay. This was my week-old grandson we were discussing! I listened to the softspoken young man as he competently and calmly described the brief ceremony he...

The central theme of the message which brought Jewish people together and bound us to one another is Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.” In this affirmation, there are many inferences to be understood. Some would look no further than the interpretation...

Of all the happy holidays in the Jewish calendar, Purim, the Feast of Esther, is a favorite. What makes it so popular? Is it the fragrant hamantashen, with their sticky-sweet surprises of poppy seed or prune filling ? Is it the fun of dressing up in costume to emulate...